Wood for raised deck

seaangler23

Member
Joined
4 May 2013
Messages
349
Visit site
Can’t get to the yacht so canned the idea of a launch this year but I can get to my long suffering motor boat which hasn’t been in the water for a few years so starting to plan on getting that ready.
The raised floor is rotten and been patched together for a few years, the last attempt to paint it I think just locked in moisture and it rotted quicker but it’s a fair age now anyway.
The floor is made up of around 20mm x 120mm planks screwed together in my panel sections held up by ply stringers.
What type of wood is suitable for this? I think it may have been pine but I’d like something that lasts and can be worked to give a decent enough finish, would Douglas fir be a better option ?
 

Rappey

Well-known member
Joined
13 Dec 2019
Messages
4,410
Visit site
Home decking is fairly resilient. Flip it over for the smooth side?
Cover it all in ply, phenolic as it has built in anti slip and incredible rot resistance?
How about synthetic decking, won't rot !
 

seaangler23

Member
Joined
4 May 2013
Messages
349
Visit site
I would have thought Spruce for a workboat sole
Plenty of that around here
Home decking is fairly resilient. Flip it over for the smooth side?
Cover it all in ply, phenolic as it has built in anti slip and incredible rot resistance?
How about synthetic decking, won't rot !
Really don’t like the look of decking in a boat and ply would give me the fear of delaminating over time
Maybe non slip plywood?
Non-Slip Plywood
Too modern for the old girl
Larch has been the timber of choice for fishing boat decks for centuries
Sounds a good idea I can source that locally
 

wrr

Active member
Joined
23 Oct 2001
Messages
267
Location
Solent
Visit site
Spruce is not a durable timber. Larch would be a better option or, if you want a teak substitute, yellow balau. Yellow balau decking is available from builders' merchants and garden decking suppliers.
 

Rappey

Well-known member
Joined
13 Dec 2019
Messages
4,410
Visit site
We are having a stab in the dark as no pics and nothing about whether you want a teak decking look or just something to stand on
 

Old Harry

Well-known member
Joined
29 Sep 2017
Messages
4,022
Visit site
Spruce is not a durable timber. Larch would be a better option or, if you want a teak substitute, yellow balau. Yellow balau decking is available from builders' merchants and garden decking suppliers.
Ah yes a senior moment there on my part
 

seaangler23

Member
Joined
4 May 2013
Messages
349
Visit site
We are having a stab in the dark as no pics and nothing about whether you want a teak decking look or just something to stand on
Seems my photobucket account is dead and phone pics to big to upload, it’s nothing fancy just a rough planked floor I can make presentable possibly oil it or a wood stain
 

JumbleDuck

Well-known member
Joined
8 Aug 2013
Messages
24,167
Location
SW Scotland
Visit site
I asked a similar question a while ago about new flooring for my Drascombe and got all sorts of good advice. In the end the limiting factor was availability on SW Scotland; none of the timber merchants here keep hardwood planking and what they could get was very restricted. In the end, as I was running out of time, I paid a joiner to do it, and on his recommendation used Meranti, which he was able to add to an order of stuff coming down from Glasgow. So far, one year later, it still looks and feels good.
 

dava

Member
Joined
7 Apr 2020
Messages
40
Visit site
If you want my advice as a joiner I would look into a wood called accoya, I've been using it for a couple of years now, just replaced the gunwales on a ww2 pinnace with it. It is only pine but has been put through a sort of pickling process, it's really amazing stuff, manufacturers guarantee it could stand unpainted in a garden for 45 years, it doesn't swell, and the Dutch are now using it to make lock gates.
 
Top